The final PPV stop on the Road to WrestleMania XXX and the final (?) non-Network “pay-per-view” certainly had some things to sort out before we got to the year’s biggest show. But the way that it would sort these things out was open to question leading into the event and there was the question of whether we would get the answers we were seeking at Elimination Chamber…
On paper it looked a decent card. The main selling points were the Shield/Wyatt’s six man and the Elimination Chamber main event. Both delivered where it mattered, in the ring. The six-man was perhaps the best tag team match the WWE Universe has seen in quite some time. That the crowd were SUPER hot for it before it even began was a good sign but that all involved were able to take that anticipation, handle it and deliver enough to keep the fans interested throughout was an even better one! The WWE’s booking has it faults, and one of them may have been not holding this one off for ‘Mania, but you cannot fault the efforts to get these two squads over. The match was excellent and was an easy pick for match of the night. Although the Elimination Chamber match couldn’t match the six-man, that was a very good effort as well. There would have been little logic in fan favourite Daniel Bryan winning (unless the booking squad really were looking to subtle bury him) but there was intrigue as to who would come out on top. If only because Cena winning a match of this magnitude is ALWAYS a possibility. He didn’t, of course, thanks to some Wyatt interference and from there Orton really was the only other winner. The real drama surrounding the ‘Mania Main Event came on TV afterwards.
The undercard was more of a mixed bag. Batista versus Alberto Del Rio fell very flat, as fans had decided they didn’t actually want Batista back and genuine real-life animosity between the two wrestlers seemed to preclude any hope of even a half decent match. A trio of title matches was a mixed bag too. I really enjoyed the Intercontinental Title match between Big E and Jack Swagger. It wasn’t brilliant, by any means, but it was a good “power” match that really clicked. Less successful was the New Age Outlaws defending their Tag Team gold against the Uso’s as I had already got sick of the Outlaws over staying their welcome at least a month earlier. As for the Diva’s match, AJ against Cameron was more a four minute angle than a match worth writing about. The only other match on the main show was a brutal and bloody grudge match between former tag team partners Darren Young and Titus O’Neil. Oh, wait, I kid. There was hardly any drama at all in it and absolutely no blood. With a bit more thought this could have potentially meant something; in the end it just existed.
In essence this was a two match card. But those two matches delivered in spades. Big E/Swagger aside I was less entertained by the undercard, but overall the sheer brilliance of the two best matches pushes this firmly into thumbs up territory.
The extras add the very entertaining Kick Off match between Cody Rhodes & Goldust and Ryback & Curtis Axel, some backstage interviews with the likes of the Wyatt Family and Randy Orton. The blu-ray throws in some Raw and Smackdown highlights around the time of the PPV including a Fatal Four Way that decided the number one contender to the IC Title. As ever, for an extra few quid they offer up decent value for money.
– By Matthew Roberts | @IWFICON
Thank you to our partners, WWEDVD.co.uk and Fetch.fm for providing our copy of WWE Elimination Chamber 2014. WWE Elimination Chamber 2014 is available DVD and Blu-Ray NOW. You can buy your copy from WWEDVD.co.uk now by clicking here.